Annual Conference. Minutes

Transcription

1 Annual Conference 12th November 2016 Palmeraie Golf Palace, Marrakech Minutes The Annual Conference of the 10YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme (STP) is a meeting of programme actors where the annual progress, priorities and programme needs are discussed. The Annual Conference is the opportunity for the 10YFP Secretariat, the STP Lead, Co-leads, MAC members and Partners to exchange experiences and interact. All participants therefore have the opportunity to help shape the direction and work priorities of the 10YFP STP. I. Welcome remarks from the 10YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme The French Co-leader of the Sustainable Tourism Programme of the 10YFP (10YFP STP), Mr. Bruno Fareniaux, opened the Annual Conference. In his speech he reminded that despite the challenges being faced by the tourism sector, it remains major peace-promoting factor. Mr. Bruno Fareniaux also highlighted that sustainable development is a long term investment that requires financial resources. As a consequence, one of the programme s main priorities should be the development of fundraising strategies alongside private and public sectors. Dr. Dirk Glaesser, UNWTO, Leader of the 10YFP STP, stressed the need to advance the area of measurement for the tourism sector. He also brought to the attention of the audience the opportunity to promote the programme within the frame of the International Year 2017 of Sustainable Tourism for Development (IY17). Dr. Dirk Glaesser recalled the responsibility of the tourism sector regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 12. Ms. Cecilia Lopez y Royo, Coordinator, 10YFP Secretariat, addressed programme actors highlighting that each one of them brings specific expertise, tools, vision and therefore, each actor of the programme can shape the agenda and make sure that the right information and topics are given attention. Ms. Cecilia Lopez y Royo, announced that in the second half of 2017 the mid-term review of the 10YFP will be undertaken. Also the United Nations and all relevant stakeholders will engage in 2018 in the review of SDG 12. She also confirmed that the 10YFP Board approved the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework that would help the 10YFP STP to assess its impacts in enhancing sustainable consumption and production (SCP).

2 II. Stocktaking, Progress & Advancing Programme Priorities for 2017/2018 Chaired by Mr. Bruno Fareniaux, General Advisor, Ministry of Environment, Energy and the Sea of France A. Overview of Progress: Coordination Desk Officers from Morocco and Republic of Korea (Mr. Mohammed Bekkali and Ms. Miran Hwang) Based on the four main areas of activity of the Coordination Desk (CD), the programme achievements in 2016 were presented. 1. Programme coordination and operational management The CD undertook and managed coordination activities and maintained constant communication between 10YFP STP actors to ensure continuous progress. The CD was active in following up operational mechanisms such as the portfolio of work, Trust Fund projects and flagship projects; organizing meetings (Lead and Co-leads meeting, MAC meetings and Annual Conference); ensuring collaboration with the 10YFP Secretariat and other 10YFP programmes (preparation of the Annual Report to the 10YFP Secretariat and the Annual Report to ECOSOC, provision of inputs to the preparation of SCP roadmaps, participation in inter-cd meetings); and getting visibility for the 10YFP STP (management of the official websites, social media and SCP clearinghouse and publication of Annual Magazine). 2. Networking building The CD aims at broadening the STP community and providing programme actors with networking opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and best practices. The status of the STP network including 87 Partners (22 additional Partners since the launch of the STP), 22 MAC members and 4 Lead/Co-leads was presented and the main advantages of becoming a Partner and the process of admission of 10YFP STP Partners including the due diligence process were briefly explained. It was highlighted that the CD acts as a hub connecting all actors and is committed to create added value for them by supporting their participation in the portfolio of work; disseminating information on, for example, webinars, best practices, funding opportunities (SWITCH, EU LIFE etc.) across the network; creating working groups (e.g. sub-group of 10YFP Monitoring & Evaluation indicators); and conducting selection processes of active actors to represent the programme in international events (e.g. Energy Efficiency workshop, World Circular Economy forum, IUCN WCPA congress), among others. 3. Communication and outreach The main objective of this area of activity is to promote key achievements of the programme and its actors through promotional tools (brochure, annual magazine, social media, official websites and SCP clearinghouse). The related activities conducted by the CD are as follows: In the preparation of 10YFP STP Annual Conference, the CD prepared the translation of the 10YFP STP brochure into six different languages (Arabic, English, French, Korean, Russian and 2

3 Spanish) and they are available at the official website and SCP clearinghouse. Programme actors were invited to disseminate information about 10YFP STP. The 10YFP STP Annual Magazine for 2015 was published in 2016 presenting the achievements of the first year of operations. Through three social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), the CD has shared news such as calls for proposals, events, new-partner announcements as well as best practices and sustainable tourism initiatives and projects from programme actors. Programme actors were invited to share information with the CD for dissemination. In addition to the two official websites where all the documents of the 10YFP STP are available, the CD has prepared the launch of the upgraded version of SCP clearinghouse in cooperation with the 10YFP Secretariat. 4. Operational mechanisms and support of the actions on the ground The CD follows up the operational mechanisms and supports the actions on the ground in order to accelerate the shift to more SCP in tourism through a prioritization approach to trigger the necessary change. The status of three main operational mechanisms (catalytic project, flagship project and portfolio of work) was presented as follows: Catalytic projects The 10YFP STP conducted the technical evaluation of the 54 eligible projects proposals received by the 10YFP Secretariat with support of six non-recused MAC members. The programme submitted the technical evaluation results to the 10YFP Secretariat for the selection and had a call with the 10YFP Secretariat to decide on the final three projects taking into account regional balance and the consolidated evaluation of results from both the 10YFP Secretariat and the STP. The final selection was reported to the 10YFP Board. The selected projects are Sustainable Enterprise Programme for the South Pacific, Inca Alliance for Sustainable Tourism and Creating a sustainable Community tourism Model for South Africa. Flagship projects The flagship project process which resulted in renowned organizations forming consortia to develop project proposals was presented. The objectives of the three STP flagship projects were briefly outlined and it was added that the projects are now in the fundraising process. It was underlined that the CD supports the projects in gaining visibility and getting closer to funding opportunities in collaboration with project consortia leaders. Portfolio of work The 10YFP STP portfolio of work was introduced as a tool for programme actors to include new and ongoing initiatives and activities under the umbrella of the programme, given their potential to contribute to its overall goal and specific objectives. The Portfolio aims to increase the visibility of initiatives and activities at the international level as well as to boost synergies and collective action among the programme actors while advancing the implementation of the programme work areas. Further details were discussed later in the presentation of the portfolio exercise

4 B. Identifying priorities and opportunities for 10YFP STP within the framework of the International Year on Sustainable Tourism for Development: Coordination Desk Officers from France and UNWTO (Ms. Svitlana Mikhalyeva and Ms. Virginia Trapa) Ms. Virginia Trapa and Ms. Svitlana Mikhalyeva presented to 10YFP STP actors the CD programme priorities and opportunities for year They highlighted during their presentations that one of the major objectives of work of the CD in 2017 would be to make sure the 10YFP STP is an added value to all of its actors. As part of the activity area on Programme coordination and operational management, the CD will continue organizing the meetings of Lead/Co-leads as well as MAC meetings and producing the necessary minutes and working documents. The CD will also coordinate the renewal of the MAC which appointment is ending in 2016 through a call for expressions of interest from Partners to upgrade their membership to MAC members as well as a voting process for the re-election of MAC members who wish to renew their participation in the MAC. The CD will support programme actors wishing to brand their activities with the logo of 10YFP STP and also engage in the inter-programme initiatives under the guidance of the 10YFP Secretariat. Within the framework of Network building activities, the CD will continue presenting the programme during sustainable tourism events and encouraging programme actors to also disseminate information about the programme facilitating standard slides and presentations. The CD will also promote further engagement of governments and the private sector in the 10YFP STP and coordinate the portfolio exercise 2016/2017. In terms of Communication and outreach activities, the CD will contribute to display information on the SCP clearinghouse website and support the organization of events. In particular, the Annual Conference (which could have a focus on SIDS or coastal management) will be supported, as well as up to 5 events of partners. Moreover, the CD will continue implementing a cycle of webinars and assisting partners with the promotion of their activities through 10YFP STP communication channels. The Annual Magazine will highlight contributions made to the portfolio; it will be distributed at major international tourism events. The newly upgraded SCP clearinghouse website that would become operational in the end of 2016 can also become an incentive for programme actors to contribute to the portfolio and to become more active. With regards to Operational mechanisms and support of the actions on the ground, the CD will continue assisting the implementation of the Trust Fund (catalytic) projects by liaising with the implementing organizations, as well as continue supporting the flagship consortia to the best extent possible in their fundraising efforts. Moreover, the new exercise of portfolio will be undertaken. This exercise will be open to all actors, as opposed to the portfolio exercise which was open only to Lead/Coleaders and MAC members and include both initiatives and projects. The protfolio will be used as a tool to evaluate and monitor activities and assist programme members with implementation of projects through clear definition of goals and use of indicators (monitoring and evaluation system framework). The CD will moreover assist up to 5 partners with the development of portfolio initiatives. 4

5 Moreover, the CD highlighted as the main opportunity the fact that the programme is Advancing towards a clear North. This statement also summarizes the progress achieved in 2016 taking into account the following factors: a) The increasing international recognition of tourism (inclusion in the SDGs, Paris Agreement, Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the adoption of the IY17); b) The shared vision from 10YFP STP actors that tourism is an agent of change and their collective commitment to drive the change in policy, the creation of evidence, practice and finance; c) The clear direction provided by the 10YFP M&E framework which identifies 7 impact issue areas as follows: water use efficiency, energy efficiency, mitigation of GHG, sustainable land use, waste reduction, material use reduction and decent employment, along with 13 indicators for the output and outcome levels, and; d) The mechanism for programme actors to be able to collectively advance towards the same goals, address large objectives and achieve multiplier effects, i.e. the portfolio of work. Lastly, the CD shared some examples of its planned contributions to the portfolio of work which relate to: - the preparation of Guidelines for integrating SCP into tourism planning and dissemination among UNWTO member states (programme work area 1); - the pilot application of the M&E framework and the involvement of the private sector into measurement of SCP (programme work area 2); - the dissemination of information on SCP tools to the private sector and SIDS (programme work area 3); - the facilitation of exchanges with financial institutions to better understand priorities and possible synergies in collaboration with the 10YFP Secretariat (programme work area 4). The CD also informed the participants that to advance the work areas 1 and 3 a Global Survey on Tourism Planning is currently ongoing and extended an invitation for the participants to take it. To conclude, all participants were invited to share their strategic recommendations with a view to shaping the programme jointly. The action plan of the Coordination Desk would be subsequently validated by Lead, Co-leads and MAC members. After the CD s intervention, Mr. Bruno Fareniaux also highlighted that in many countries tourism competences are decentralized; as a consequence, local authorities should take an active part within the programme in many countries. Ms. Megan Epler Wood, Director, International Sustainable Tourism Initiative, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, U.S.A. asked the CD to explain the procedure of selection of flagship projects. Ms. Virginia Trapa explained that flagship process was initiated by the 10YFP Secretariat through a workshop that took place in May The CD was asked to identify programme actors willing to participate in the workshop and a call for expressions of interest was circulated. During the workshop, all participants evaluated potential project ideas using a set of criteria facilitated by the 5

6 10YFP Secretariat. Subsequently, three flagship projects finalised their concept notes and improved the concept notes with the guidance of 10YFP Secretariat. Both the CD and the 10YFP Secretariat are committed to support these projects with fundraising. However, the flagship project process was engineered by the 10YFP Secretariat in a way that the fundraising responsibility lays on the consortia leaders of flagship projects. Mr. Hubert Vendeville, C.E.O.Betterfly Tourism, France, enquired if there will be other Trust Fund call for projects in the upcoming year. Ms. Svitlana Mikhalyeva replied that the 10YFP Secretariat is currently undertaking fundraising efforts to replenish the Trust Fund. Mr. Masaru Takayama, Founding Chair of Asia Ecotourism Network, asked the CD to develop and circulate among 10YFP STP actors a list of sustainable tourism events that will take place in 2017 in order to create links with the IY17. The CD committed to undertake this task. Mr. Christopher Warren, Director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, Australia, asked about the criteria for a country to join the programme and to benefit from its technical and political advice. Ms. Virginia Trapa and Ms. Svitlana Mikhalyeva indicated that membership to 10YFP STP is free of cost and pointed out that any country which commits to foster SCP in tourism may become a programme s partner. Also UNWTO and UN Environment are currently developing Guidelines for integrating SCP into tourism planning that would provide a useful framework for countries willing to work on SCP. C. Mainstreaming Energy Efficiency in the 10YFP STP: Mr. Juan José Galeano, President, Asociación Par Argentina Mr. Juan José Galeano, President of the Asociación Par Argentina was part of the workshop on energy efficiency that was organised by the 10YFP Secretariat in September As resource efficiency and energy efficiency more specifically are seen as priority topics from the 10YFP programmes by the Secretariat, Mr. Juan José Galeano presented outcomes and recommendations of the workshop. The presentation may be consulted on the UNWTO website: III. Afternoon session: Highlights from the Portfolio of Work of 10YFP STP Co-Chaired by Dr. Dirk Glaesser, Director, Sustainable Development of Tourism Programme, UNWTO and Ms. Cecilia Lopez y Royo, Coordinator, 10YFP Secretariat, UN Environment. This session was an opportunity for 10YFP STP partners to share with programme members their major and inspiring projects and methods of work. A. Focus group 1: Accelerating the sustainable production of tourism what role do local actors play? Club Méditerranée, France: Ms. Agnes Weil, Director of Sustainability and Philanthropy Club Méditerranée (Club Med) used to purchase local food when it was possible; however the company noticed that sometimes products that could have been produced locally were imported from other continents. Club Med realized that in a lot of developing countries where the company operated, subsistence crops were abandoned in favour of export of mono-crop. As a consequence, 6

7 most of the food products had to be imported from other countries. In collaboration with the NGO AgriSud of which purpose is to help populations of developing countries to escape poverty through a better use of the land, the company developed a project of empowerment of local farmers to ensure local food supply for their resorts. The projects started in Senegal with diagnosis of the situation and identification of potential producers. The selected farmers were trained through several seasons. Few years later the project was reproduced in other countries. Club Med clients were progressively involved in these projects through awareness and fund raising campaigns. Asian Ecotourism Network: Mr. Masaru Takayama, Founding Chair Asian Ecotourism Network aims to promote ecotourism as a tool for development and focuses on 3 main pillars of work: 1. Undertake profiling of ecotourism in Asia is the first pillar of the Network. Tourism yearly growth in Asia is in average 35%. Chinese and Indian economies are important contributors of tourists willing to go to trips overseas. Currently, 17 countries are involved within the network and the number of members is expected to grow. 2. Setting global standards of ecotourism in Asia is the second pillar. Even though European standards of ecotourism may be in some cases inspiring, Asia needs to create standards that would better fit needs of local communities. This work is being undertaken by making bridges between public and private sector. 3. The third pillar is the creation of B2B and B2C marketing opportunities. For example, the network develops its benchmark of operators and hoteliers; it hosts 0 emission conferences online to reduce carbon emissions. Currently, Asian Ecotourism Network tries to replicate its model in Africa, Latin America and Europe. Its main goals are to bridge the public and private sectors and to bring discussions to the community level. The organisation observed the need to bring a clear message at the local level and speak the same language as local communities (taking into account their basic needs and everyday concerns). Global targets should be translated onto the field. Asociación Amigos de Sian Ka an, Mexico Amigos de Sian Ka'an decided to create an entire ecotourism destination within and around Sian Ka an. There were several goals of such an ambitious initiative: 1. Take advantage of having a World Heritage Site as Sian Ka an to attract visitors to the region; 2. Reduce development pressure over Sian Ka an, while creating development opportunities to local communities around; 3. Diversify the tourism products and attractions offered by Quintana Roo; 4. Provide a promotion platform to increase the commercial viability of local ecotourism businesses; 5. Strengthen conservation and management capabilities among Sian Ka an and other protected area authorities. Maya Ka an is the first tourism destination in Mexico that was born with social, economic and environmental criteria. Although Maya Ka an (ASK) does not have specific boundaries, it is a destination that covers about 10,000 km2 in 3 municipalities with about 152,000 inhabitants. Today there are 17 cooperatives in Mayan and fishing communities operating tours. Nine of those cooperatives and 35 of their guides are certified as ecotourism operators and are organized in a network. ASK has invested in over 200 hours of training for cooperatives and benefited directly 400 7

8 people in this Mayan region of Mexico. So far, ASK investment in Maya Ka an generated a Social Return on Investment of about USD 500, B. Focus group 2: Accelerating the sustainable consumption of tourism how to trigger tourists behaviour change? International Centre for Responsible Tourism, ICRT, Australia: Mr. Christopher Warren, Director The aim of the ICRT project was to directly engage guest staying at tourist accommodation to adapt their behaviour, reduce resource consumption and cut their carbon emissions. ICRT challenged the assumption that guests will not be willing to participate by testing a persuasive communication intervention that directly asks guests to conserve resources. A 17-month real world guest engagement study was conducted at four self-contained cottages (4 ½ star). Results show guests saved over 50% in electricity (excluding base level) and over 25% in gas and water use. Guests who received the intervention were just as satisfied with the accommodation experience as the control group. Importantly those guests who valued saving energy and water, also recorded higher levels of appreciation of the intervention. Research shows that consumption is not linked to happiness; likewise the study shows resource use was not linked to stay satisfaction. Beyond essentials and the need for comfort, people find happiness from non-resource intensive consumption. Similar to the UN Development Programmes (UNDP), ICRT found the strength of character a key to sustainable change. Guests moderate resource use and choose no/low carbon alternative behaviours by applying character strengths. It is also found that engaging guests through co-created experiences in fact made many guests happier and more appreciative. ICRT is willing to develop similar experiences in other countries and partner 10YFP STP partners for this purpose. Tesouros de Galicia, Spain: Mr. Javier Rodríguez Losada, President Flavours & Destinations is a Sustainable Tourism Fair of identity products from each area in Galicia (Spain). The organizers are ambassadors of their own origins and promoters of tourism to low developed and less known areas, focused on heritage and taking into account social and environmental values. The Fair will take place in A Coruña, August 2017, coinciding with the Snipe World Cup in order to make sure that stakeholders from sport, food and tourism industries will meet each other. Responsible consumption and waste-reduction will be encouraged throughout the fair. The event will include a policy of zero-waste. The event will be held in city center: the inner harbour, located in front of the cruisers dock. Over 300,000 visitors to the event are expected. The goal of this fair is to involve the whole tourism value chain and promote local initiatives that have sometimes difficulties to reach the market. This project is a holistic initiative to trigger the change and raise awareness in society. Association Pinna for the Development and Promotion of Ecotourism, Tunisia: Mr. Chokri Mansour, President Ecomel is a project aiming to promote responsible travel to the fragile, pristine and protected area of the Meloula Bay-Tabarka located in the northwest of Tunisia. The project is supported by the IUCN-Med and financed by the MAVA foundation and the FFEM (French representative of the GEF). 8

9 In the framework of this initiative, the management of an underwater trail beneath the sea surface in the coast of the bay was started as an educational tool of awareness and environmental education. The trail is intended to discover a little-known environment, transmitting values aimed at improving knowledge and adoption of environmentally friendly activities. Throughout snorkelling excursions and eco-tours, people are educated on the special needs associated with ecotourism and participants are empowered to be more active in the community. Recently, yoga workshops were organized on the beach followed by environmental education sessions through the snorkelling trail. The yoga community often embraces changes, such as ecotourism, and help to make them relevant within society. The project aims to create a nature-based tourism destination in the rural coastal village of Meloula, where the stakeholders have varying roles in: accommodation, food, crafts, and transportation or guide services, among others. The Travel Foundation, UK: Ms. Salli Felton, CEO The large majority of tourists think tourism should be sustainable, but sustainability is not a factor for them when they book their holidays. Average mainstream tourist is not ready to pay more for a more sustainable holiday. Price remains a key factor of a choice of a holiday. Tourists believe it is the industry s responsibility to make holidays more sustainable. Negative communication generally doesn t work; people don t like to feel guilty during their holidays. The Travel Foundation is willing to make sustainable tourism products become business as usual. The very product itself, the destination, shouldn t be cannibalised by the business if it wants to last in time. The industry has a chance to change tourist behaviour. If it is done well, this can actually improve tourists experience. It is all about communication. The industry needs to speak about what they are doing, about benefits for the society and environment in order to trigger a behavioural change among tourists. In this way the guest can become a hero. C. Focus group 3: Advancing tourism in a changing climate innovation in endangered sites Institut de la Francophonie pour le Développement Durable, IFDD: Ms. Diana Koerner, Consultant IFDD is currently leading sustainable development initiative in SIDS (Small Insular Developing States) that are all concerned by issues of coastal management. IFDD organised a workshop with SIDS ambassadors in order to develop a global development strategy taking into account the challenges raised by tourism activities in coastal areas. Guidelines for the implementation of sustainable tourism projects are currently being developed. Two sustainable tourism projects are now being implemented: the project in Haiti develops cultural roads in rural areas and the project in Madagascar aims at raising environmental awareness among local communities. Most Beautiful Bays in the World, Portugal: Mr. Galip Gur, Past-President The association Most Beautiful Bays was founded nearly twenty years ago under the auspices of UNESCO and now has nearly forty member bays from around the world. One of its main aims is to facilitate the exchange of experience and expertise between member bays on the promotion, 9

10 enhancement, conservation and protection of tourism in member bays. The projected impact of climate change on tourism in member bays is a matter of considerable concern, particularly with regard to the projected rise in sea levels and temperatures, and directly relevant to our role. The association s bays are on the 5 continents and some of them have sustainable development programs such as Green Passport. To promote sustainability the association Most Beautiful Bays has also just launched a competition for a scholarship for a best study on environmental preservation of coasts and the sea. Linking Tourism and Conservation, LT&C: Mr. Sergio Chiarandini, Founder and Head Linking Tourism and Conservation (LT&C) is an innovative and effective shared network, which is in support of relevant Sustainable Development Goals and sub goals. It is designed to develop tools and incentives for replication of best practices and examples of sustainable tourism that support the establishment and management of national parks and other types of protected areas. LT&C works with individuals, businesses, and governments to strengthen the benefits of both sustainable tourism and area protection and management. LT&C members work to increase examples of well-managed and tourism-supported protected areas. The beneficiaries are: nature, tourists and tourism, the management of national parks and other protected areas, local economies and societies. LT&C operates in a very specific niche by focusing on mechanisms, tools and incentives to replicate and increase examples of tourism supporting protected areas. LT&C demonstrates concrete and applied projects. LT&C bridges the oftenseparated realms of tourism and conservation through connecting members from both domains. All presentations made by 10YFP STP actors during the Annual Conference can be consulted on the UNWTO website: 10